BIT OF A RANT

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yellow peril

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S3 you buy it because it looks the part and vorsprung durch so should be good right. You get it home, live with it for a couple of weeks then it starts. You start to hear noises, rattles, grunts n groans all kinds of air noises. Lets find out what this is open bonnet nice engine covers that looks neat, remove them hoping your gony find something simple thats came loose, **** not a chance its a set of bagpipes you find hoses n cables everywhere. You **** about for uncountable hours checking n replacing sensors n hoses that dont actually seem to serve any purpose most of the time but something seems to have worked so that will do for now. Lets see if we can find out whats rattling below now, no psobs here surely jack it up and here we go,its just as bad as up above bushes everywhere, the noises from the suspension on these things can only be likend to a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel, so off you go again replacing everything. By now your well pist off and nearly skint and wondering do i just get the mathes out and do the decent thing and put it out its misery, lets face it if it was an animal youd get it put down. But not at all by now your determined you will get this car to be and run the way you want it to, with teeth gritted you persivere you will tame the beast yes you will. Then just as you start to see the light your door sensors start playing up, your pixels go dead and the rattles start all over again aaaarrrggghhhhh. Conclusion for me is its got absolutely nowt to do with cars, tuning your wheels absoluteley nowt, its now a personal BATTLE between you and this lump of metal that should have been the best made car youve had now that you have moved on from flying jap machines and looking for a bit of refinement, big mistake your now in the battle of your life and will fight to the death. I wondered when i bought this what i would keep in all the storage pockets, problem solved overalls, spanners and socket sets. Well boys thats my christmas story whats your theorys and experiance theres allways something driving us nuts with s3s, is this maybe a conspiracy britain germany lol sorry no offence meant just a bit of a pun
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i feel your pain mate, i brought my s3 and within 4 days the turbo eat its own face, and i had to get it replaced along with loads of other stuff. so 2k lighter. wheel barings then went, sensors galore, new tyres. service cost. etc etc... makes me wonder why i just didnt buy that new civic type r i was looking at....

i drive my car like something else is about to break, whats going to go wrong next, have no trust in it and just think would be happier in a 1.1 fiesta... but then other days i love it.

just happen to be more days where i wish i just sold it....
 
Brilliant write up lol :applaus:

I think I would like to add:

- Constantly fighting returning rust on a 7 year old car WTF!
- I spent a year battling with an alarm wiring issue, 4 visits to/from an Audi specialist
- Like you said strange air sounds that change every day and can never be diagnosed
- The odd cabin rattle that comes and goes as it pleases
- Suspension rattles I can handle as I know my shocks are shagged

I still love the S3 even if it does have these issues. I've never owned a car over 3 years old that didn't run into issues like these. You have to remember these S3s are fast approaching 10 years and you simply cant get this much car for 4-6K.
 
audi upgrades
Yeah know your pain mate but the thing is like westle says, these cars are getting old and we tend to forget that, mine will be 10 in january, it aint no brand new S3 any more straight off the line with o miles, its been used and abused lol.
 
Any second hand car is only as good as how the previous owner looked after it. 9 times out of 10 a model of car sold and then bought at the cheaper end of it's market price is likely to have issues attribituable to lack of maintainece by the previous owner.

I've owned Audis where I've paid a premium for being well maintained and immaculate and never had a problem. And also bought "cheap" Audis which have cost me just as much in the wrong run getting right.
 
being maintained is usually shown via the service history as its the only real way of telling...but it isnt

if you saw what went on at these garages behind closed doors you'd be shocked, thats why i wont pay for FSH, its a nice to have...not a reason to bump the value up. Your average dealer mechanic doesnt know his a**e from his elbow, all he knows is a process that hes been trained to follow.

best case scenario is that your able to contact previous owners, other than that intuition is your only friend when buying a car, the older it is the more at risk you are
 
... I've had mine for two years and havent had to spend a penny on it :o.k:
 
1animal1 said:
being maintained is usually shown via the service history as its the only real way of telling...but it isnt

if you saw what went on at these garages behind closed doors you'd be shocked, thats why i wont pay for FSH, its a nice to have...not a reason to bump the value up. Your average dealer mechanic doesnt know his a**e from his elbow, all he knows is a process that hes been trained to follow.

best case scenario is that your able to contact previous owners, other than that intuition is your only friend when buying a car, the older it is the more at risk you are
Click to expand...

True, but thats not the only thing I would use to see wether the car has been well looked after and maintained. If buying privately you get more information by talking to the seller, and having a GOOD look over the car can usually tell as well. I agree "just" having a FSH isn't a reason to bump the price of a car up, but it is if it matches the condition of the car and other factors.
 
in all honesty, i bought mine from a dealer (as scrap) for a decent price. I've had it since Feb and the only things i have replaced are the usual stuff that you would expect...MAF, Bushes, Dampers and Springs, tired std Wheels. im sure if i wanted to go to town on it, Mr VISA would take a right beating. but its not let me down yet and the constant need for parts renewal at this age keeps me interested. :kissmyrings:

Oh, and the only service history i got with it was a part stamped book....no receiepts and not even all of the whole MoT Certs.
I like to think i picked myself a good 'un....haha:yahoo:
 
it will mean different things to different people, i have the benefit of knowing (currently)and working (years ago) with the main dealers and know what goes into a main service....even Audi's

there is no conclusive answer, although paying extra for an FSH is still no guarantee, it's only something to calm the nerves.... that said im sure we all know people that main dealer service their cars and rag the s**t out of them.....

intuition is your only true friend, the rest of the info supplied with a car is just giving people with 'trust'... blinkers
 
When my mate bought my S3 (before I bought it from him) he took along a VAG mechanic that he used to go to school with to check the car over. The mechanic spent the best part of an hour under the car on the garage forcourt inspecting everything to ensure it was all ok.

He didn't test the ****** alarm though did he :no:
 
yellow peril said:
S3 you buy it because it looks the part and vorsprung durch so should be good right. You get it home, live with it for a couple of weeks then it starts. You start to hear noises, rattles, grunts n groans all kinds of air noises. Lets find out what this is open bonnet nice engine covers that looks neat, remove them hoping your gony find something simple thats came loose, **** not a chance its a set of bagpipes you find hoses n cables everywhere. You **** about for uncountable hours checking n replacing sensors n hoses that dont actually seem to serve any purpose most of the time but something seems to have worked so that will do for now. Lets see if we can find out whats rattling below now, no psobs here sureley jack it up n here we go, **** its just as bad as up above bushes everywhere, the noises from the suspension on these things can only be likend to a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel, so off you go again replacing everything. By now your well pist off and nearly skint and wondering do i just get the mathes out and do the decent thing and put it out its misery, lets face it if it was an animal youd get it put down. But not at all by now your determined you will get this car to be and run the way you want it to, with teeth gritted you persivere you will tame the beast yes you will. Then just as you start to see the light your door sensors start playing up, your pikcells go dead and the rattles start all over again aaaarrrggghhhhh. Conclusion for me is its got absolutely nowt to do with cars, tuning your wheels absoluteley nowt, its now a personal BATTLE between you and this lump of metal that should have been the best made car youve had now that you have moved on from flying jap machines and looking for a bit of refinement, big mistake your now in the battle of your life and will fight to the death. I wondered when i bought this what i would keep in all the storage pockets, problem solved overalls, spanners and socket sets. Well boys thats my christmas story whats your theorys and experiance theres allways something driving us nuts with s3s, is this maybe a conspiracy britain germany lol sos no offence meant just a bit of a pun
Click to expand...

hit the nail on the head, lol
but what makes it worse is reading other peoples problems then like me you go looking for them on your own car :whistle2:
its whats called an obsession
but i still dont regret buying my car, not yet anyway :sm4:
 
Its a high mileage 9 year old car, its not going to be perfect, no car is!
 
i mainly agree with the first post of this thread i m getting fed up with replacing poorly designed anti roll bars, replacing worn bushes , the dodgy steering column which should have never been an issue but needing replacing, squeeks & rattles not to mention general maintenice such as leaking rear dampers, a worn but not broken flywheel (clutch is fine, surely the flywheel should out live the clutch), plus a cross threaded sub frame bolt thanks to a well known specialist, no idea how i m gonna sort that one out.

As for the storage pockets etc they all seem to be the same size which means anything bigger ends up on the floor !
 
whats the issue with the steering column now you mention it mine seems a bit wierd, its as if the steering wants to sag to the left over bumbs i feel a slight judder as if its from inside the column, tracking has been done tyre pressure fine thats why im about to replace some bushes, but they are worn so are needed.
 
Mine IS 10 years old, and under 60k miles. I've not had any of the common problems happen to mine apart from the dead pixels on the DIS, but I have had the gearbox explode on me on the M42!
 
I've had my TQS for 2 years... bought it with 75,000 on the clock it's now got 110,000... i've had to change the backbox and 2 front wheel bearings in that time and thats it.. other things i would cosider consumable's ,, oil , brake pads, tires.... i've driven older Audis for the last 20 years and this is by far the most robust one i've owned.... no squeaks or rattles... really solid car... my wife has a 2005 Tigra with 20,000 on the clock and compared to the Audi it rattles it's nuts off..... i can only think the S3's being the top of the A3 range have attracted a bit more spirited driving through their years and now it's starting to show....
 
The S3 is a bag of *****, but credit where it's due, mine has been utterly reliable for the year I've owned it, just recently sailed through MOT. Apart from a few very minor niggles (thermostat, rear coil spring) it has been solid as a rock.
 
Had my S3 for a year now and its coming up to 6 and a half years old. Its a really solid car and has no rattles whatsoever but i do get the odd wierd problem, but what cars dont? You wont find many S3's that every owner has cherished.
 
i have had my S3 for nearly 4 years and its been a superb car for me. apart from consumables like tyres, brake pads, discs ......nothing has major gone wrong with it touch wood.

i had a few coil pack issues but sorted straight away. Maybe it could be put down to the way i drive my car, always always warmed up before a sprinted drive and cool downed properly too.
 
Remember forums tend to highlight the problems rather than the positives with cars, and as several posters have pointed out these are now approaching ten year old cars, and I'm sure a fair few have had a hard life at some stage, and a lot have had significant increases in power and modifications way beyond what Audi designed, they are complex high performance vehicles and as such are bound to be more highly strung than the average shopping car. Mine is now 10 years old with 65000 miles, 3 ownwers, the last from 2002 until I bought it in September, it has a full but non franchised service history and has been well looked after, only problems Ive had personally are roof rail corrosion, and the clutch started to slip after a remap, its a joy to drive and brings a big grin to my face. The key to S3 ownership is maintain them well and they will be reliable, there are design faults, which is annoying on a £25k+ car. but lets face it we all love our S3's to bits.
 
I sold my 2005 Civic Type R with only 26k on the clock to get my 2001 S3. I knew the Civic was a super reliable bit of kit & would have NEVER let me down no matter how much I beat that thing it would always come back for more. I have aprox 7 years experience with VAG & knew all to well what I was letting myself in for when I bought it, It still never put me off & trust me I've seen all the common faults.

The problem isn't the cars (S3s) its the twats that buy the abused/neglected pups with higher mileage @ a really low price & believe they just got them self a "bargin" "bulit proof" german car. Alot of people stretch there budget to buy an S3 @ the lowest end of the price range then call it a **** car when it turns out things are fecked, Get real.

I love the posts where people say "I've spent loads of money/replaced loads of parts trying to fix a fault and its still the same, what a crap car" The truth of it is the person who made the decision to fit all the parts is crap not the car. Pay an experienced dealer or specialist to diagnose the fault correctly & save the ****** hassle.

I won't rant on any more but just make one last good relevant point. FSH dealer or not only means that they serviced the car, it DOSN'T mean they carried out all the repairs and gave the car a clean bill of health. The customer could have walked away with a stamp in the book & list of faults as long as his arm, either way the car has FSH.

CheeRS Ewan.
 
Biggied said:
I sold my 2005 Civic Type R with only 26k on the clock to get my 2001 S3. I knew the Civic was a super reliable bit of kit & would have NEVER let me down no matter how much I beat that thing it would always come back for more. I have aprox 7 years experience with VAG & knew all to well what I was letting myself in for when I bought it, It still never put me off & trust me I've seen all the common faults.

The problem isn't the cars (S3s) its the twats that buy the abused/neglected pups with higher mileage @ a really low price & believe they just got them self a "bargin" "bulit proof" german car. Alot of people stretch there budget to buy an S3 @ the lowest end of the price range then call it a **** car when it turns out things are fecked, Get real.

I love the posts where people say "I've spent loads of money/replaced loads of parts trying to fix a fault and its still the same, what a crap car" The truth of it is the person who made the decision to fit all the parts is crap not the car. Pay an experienced dealer or specialist to diagnose the fault correctly & save the ****** hassle.

I won't rant on any more but just make one last good relevant point. FSH dealer or not only means that they serviced the car, it DOSN'T mean they carried out all the repairs and gave the car a clean bill of health. The customer could have walked away with a stamp in the book & list of faults as long as his arm, either way the car has FSH.

CheeRS Ewan.
Click to expand...

You took the words out my mouth...:o.k:

If you stretch you're budget and get newer S3 with lower mileage etc its bound to last longer then a "£4500 Quick sale!"

What you pay is what you get, and if you treat it with respect it will treat you back with respect. Two easy rules of ownership, Yes every veichle has its ups and downs and some are Friday afternoon job etc but its simple....:thumbsup:
 
S3 HODGE said:
You took the words out my mouth...:o.k:

If you stretch you're budget and get newer S3 with lower mileage etc its bound to last longer then a "£4500 Quick sale!"

What you pay is what you get, and if you treat it with respect it will treat you back with respect. Two easy rules of ownership, Yes every veichle has its ups and downs and some are Friday afternoon job etc but its simple....:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
you seem to be assuming ive got a 5k motor m8 can assure i paid a lot more than that for mtm big turbo version:drag: I had scoobys for 9yrs drove them hard not one fell apart the way this is or gave me the grief S3 does but i will persivere and i will tame the beast:racer:
 
:thumbsup:
Biggied said:
I sold my 2005 Civic Type R with only 26k on the clock to get my 2001 S3. I knew the Civic was a super reliable bit of kit & would have NEVER let me down no matter how much I beat that thing it would always come back for more. I have aprox 7 years experience with VAG & knew all to well what I was letting myself in for when I bought it, It still never put me off & trust me I've seen all the common faults.

The problem isn't the cars (S3s) its the twats that buy the abused/neglected pups with higher mileage @ a really low price & believe they just got them self a "bargin" "bulit proof" german car. Alot of people stretch there budget to buy an S3 @ the lowest end of the price range then call it a **** car when it turns out things are fecked, Get real.

I love the posts where people say "I've spent loads of money/replaced loads of parts trying to fix a fault and its still the same, what a crap car" The truth of it is the person who made the decision to fit all the parts is crap not the car. Pay an experienced dealer or specialist to diagnose the fault correctly & save the ****** hassle.

I won't rant on any more but just make one last good relevant point. FSH dealer or not only means that they serviced the car, it DOSN'T mean they carried out all the repairs and gave the car a clean bill of health. The customer could have walked away with a stamp in the book & list of faults as long as his arm, either way the car has FSH.

CheeRS Ewan.
Click to expand...
lol looks like your volunteering yourself to be numbero uno diagnostic man there my good man, where you in scotland m8 im glasgow area myself:thumbsup:
 
:undwech:Dont you all feel better now getting all that rage out lol, now get your asses in gear and get back to fixing your S3s maybe it will run better tomoz and put that wee smile back on your faces for a few miles more, or just go out and pick a race with something worthwhile and blow them to oblivion, allways puts the smile back, Oh before the righteous start make sure your on your private road . :eiertritt:
 
I'm happy with mine it must be a one off :)
 
despite all the problems, rattles, endless sensors and miles of wiring that we replace, modify, test and curse, despite all the heartache, tears, blood and sweat not to mention the amount of money we part with for these 'lumps of metal', we still keep coming back for more lol
are we mad? some people would say so, but they just dont understand

the amount of days that we curse our motors do tend to outweigh the days where we love them, but those days where we love 'em make all the pain and money totally worth it

thats my pennies worth anyway :)
 
I'm with Jase. I've had mine for coming up for 4 years, spent a couple a grand a year on it, and still love it. If I wasn't happy with it I would get rid of it and get something else.
 
To be fair if you take out my alarm wiring issue i've only had to replace 1 rear ARB and wishbone bushes, which I expected from the tired suspension. I know i've got a weeping rear shock that will need to be addressed at some point but apart from that i'm happy :beerchug:

Oh.... I forgot about the rusty roof :banghead:
 
S3fan said:
I'm with Jase. I've had mine for coming up for 4 years, spent a couple a grand a year on it, and still love it. If I wasn't happy with it I would get rid of it and get something else.
Click to expand...

Exactly...
 
yellow peril said:
you seem to be assuming ive got a 5k motor m8 can assure i paid a lot more than that for mtm big turbo version:drag: I had scoobys for 9yrs drove them hard not one fell apart the way this is or gave me the grief S3 does but i will persivere and i will tame the beast:racer:
Click to expand...

Were in there do i quote "yellow peril spent 5k on his S3".......If you read the previous posts properly I was agreeing with someone else who said they think its pointless in someone spending little on an S3 and expecting the world of it. Plus sadly the S3 wasnt engineerd to be modified, so off corse what you change may affect the realiablity of the car (Im not on about just you this time so keep it in your pants).
 
Biggied said:
I sold my 2005 Civic Type R with only 26k on the clock to get my 2001 S3. I knew the Civic was a super reliable bit of kit & would have NEVER let me down no matter how much I beat that thing it would always come back for more. I have aprox 7 years experience with VAG & knew all to well what I was letting myself in for when I bought it, It still never put me off & trust me I've seen all the common faults.

The problem isn't the cars (S3s) its the twats that buy the abused/neglected pups with higher mileage @ a really low price & believe they just got them self a "bargin" "bulit proof" german car. Alot of people stretch there budget to buy an S3 @ the lowest end of the price range then call it a **** car when it turns out things are fecked, Get real.

I love the posts where people say "I've spent loads of money/replaced loads of parts trying to fix a fault and its still the same, what a crap car" The truth of it is the person who made the decision to fit all the parts is crap not the car. Pay an experienced dealer or specialist to diagnose the fault correctly & save the ****** hassle.

I won't rant on any more but just make one last good relevant point. FSH dealer or not only means that they serviced the car, it DOSN'T mean they carried out all the repairs and gave the car a clean bill of health. The customer could have walked away with a stamp in the book & list of faults as long as his arm, either way the car has FSH.

CheeRS Ewan.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more.

Had mine three years, all i've replaced is two coilpacks (directly after mapping it) and I had the roof done hassle-free under warranty...if you don't like the bills then sell it?
 
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